The Gallery of Natural Phenomena

The earth, the sea, the sky - and beyond

JANUARYThe blackest month of all the yearIs the month of Janiveer.Anon.The great aurora of January 25, 1938, seen from Hastings, Sussex, about 7 pm.

January 11801 Discovery of the first and largest asteroid, Ceres, by the Italian astronomer Piazzi. Ceres is about 485 miles (780 km.) in diameter.January 21756 A brilliant light appeared in the sky at Tuam in Ireland, undulating like rippling water and vanishing to the north. A shock of earthquake followed.January 31885 A minimum temperature of -90° F. (-68° C.) was recorded at Verkhoyansk in Siberia.January 41840 N. De Saussure saw an aurora in the form of white spindles of light while the yellow and orange colours of twilight still lingered in the west.January 51892 The first photograph of an aurora showing detail was taken by Boschin and Brendel in Finland. They used a 1-minute exposure.January 61928 A storm surge wave in the River Thames flooded parts of central London. 14 persons were drowned. The tide was 6 feet (1.8 m.) above predicted level.January 71831 A luminous mist at night in Italy, so bright that print could be read at midnight. Part of a worldwide 'dry fog'.January 81735 The most violent gale in England since November 26, 1703. General floods. Barometer at noon 27.6 inches. (935 mb.)January 91563 A tornado struck Leicester on market day, tearing the roofs from 42 houses.January 101911 The temperature at Rapid City, South Dakota, fell 47 degrees in 15 minutes, from 55° F. (12.7° C.) to 8° F. (-13.3° C.)January 111878 During a heavy snowstorm, a north-east gust of 186 m.p.h. (299 km/h.) was measured at Mount Washington, New Hampshire.January 121769 During the early hours, two 'balls of fire' fell in London, one on Tower Hill and one in High Holborn. There was a smell of sulphur and a noise 'resembling thunder'.January 131910 The great Daylight Comet was discovered by some South African diamond miners, four days before perihelion.January 141939 A temperature of 114° F. (45.5° C.) was recorded at Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.January 151517 Three feet (91 cm.) of snow lay in the streets of Valence in southern France.January 161889 A maximum temperature of 128° F. (53° C.) at Cloncurry in Queensland, Australia.January 171773 Captain James Cook in H.M.S. Endeavour became the first man to cross the Antarctic Circle.January 181881 The worst snowstorm of the 19th Century in London. An easterly gale of 73 m.p.h. (117 km/hr) at Yarmouth. Snowdrifts 12 feet (4 m.) deep in the Isle of Wight.January 191892 The thermometer at Fort Assinbone, Montana, rose from - 5° F. (-20° C.) to 37° F.(3° C.), 42 degrees in 15 minutes.January 201854 A tornado half a mile wide, accompanied by terrific thunder and lightning, wrecked the town of Brandon in Ohio.January 211906 An earthquake of Richter magnitude 8.4 in Honshu, Japan. Focal depth was 340 km. (211 miles).January 221900 A barometer reading of 1079 millibars (31.89 inches) was recorded at Barnaul in Siberia.January 231556 An earthquake in Shensi province, China, killed an estimated 830,000 people. Whole towns sank into sediments liquefied by vibrations.January 241909 Over a hundred stone meteorites fell at Gifu in Japan, after detonations. The largest weighed 4 Kg. (9 lbs.)January 251795 'Coldest day ever known' in Paris: -23.5° C. (-10.3°F.) At midnight near Geneva the thermometer was -14° C. (6.8° F.)January 261851 After an earthquake, a huge meteor passed across the sky and exploded on a mountain at Guerrero in Mexico.January 271805 A 48-hour snowstorm left drifts two feet deep in the streets of New York City.January 281887 Snowflakes 15 inches (38 cm.) wide and 8 inches (20 cm.) thick fell at Fort Keogh, Montana.January 291698 A month of great snow and frost in England. On the 29th the ice was 8 inches (20 cm) thick on the Suffolk coast.January 301815 New York City became virtually ice-bound at the end of January. On the 30th the mail-boat was sunk by ice floes. The carrier was rescued.January 311901 A barometric pressure of 1055 millibars was recorded in Aberdeen, Scotland.